Five killed in Russia’s Ingushetia
Russian Interior Ministry movable commandoes hold military exercises in the restive southern Russian region of Ingushetia on May 22, 2008. Ingushetia, which neighbors Chechnya, frequently sees clashes between Islamic insurgents and Russian security forces.
Russian security forces said Monday they had killed four suspected militants in the village of Dolakovo in the restive North Caucuses republic of Ingushetia, reported Reuters.
Russia's National Anti-terrorism Committee (NAK) released a statement saying the clashes killed four militants were killed and one Russian officer, according to China Radio International.
"Two pistols, one of them with a silencer, and two homemade grenades were found at the site of the clashes," Reuters cited the NAK statement as saying.
The area has become a breeding ground for Islamist militant activity in the years since Russia took control of the north after fighting two wars with nearby Chechnya in the 1990s.
The insurgents reportedly want to carve out a base in the region and violence there is common.